Remember to give thanks

Halloween has come and gone, and with its passing has come the annual onslaught that is the holiday season. The retailers in our nation already have sent out the print ads, decked their halls, and soon the commercials will hit the airwaves for the latest and newest in ‘must-have’ gadgets and toys. 

All this to glean the last dollar from a nation in economic turmoil, which will be exacerbated by the upcoming result of the national elections (regardless of the outcome). In doing this, the two holidays that used to be commemorated – Veterans’ Day and Thanksgiving Day – have been relegated to being a footnote in the never-ending zeal of Madison Avenue and Wal-Mart. 

Veterans’ Day started out as Armistice Day, a day set aside to memorialize the end of the “War To End All Wars,” otherwise known as World War I. It soon morphed into a day in which we honored those men and women who constantly and consistently put themselves into harm’s way so that we might continue to enjoy the freedoms and privileges that we have become accustomed to. It has now mutated itself into a one-day sale, one in which we give some lip service without really meaning anything.

Thanksgiving Day began as a time when surviving colonists and local peoples sat down and thanked the Supreme Being for their lives and a bountiful harvest. They shared a meal and good feelings. This holiday has devolved into a daylong eating frenzy backed up with parades and football games, which have no true impact upon our giving thanks. Nor does it have any resemblance to the notion of sharing with one another the bounty which has been bestowed upon us.

This November, I ask all of you, regardless of who you are or where you live, to take the time to thank your veterans for their sacrifice, and to thank your Creator for your life. You may not have much nor be in the best of health, but you are alive and living in the United States of America, where you have certain inalienable rights and freedoms, guaranteed to you by the Constitution and protected by those you put into office.

Michael G. Kelso
Waynesboro